Tub Repair Advice

FNG here...I just inherited my old man's 80 CJ-5 and I'm trying to clean it up to get it looking good again. Right now rust on the tub is my main concern. The frame is in great shape. There are obviously a ton of threads on rust, but I couldn't find anything specific to what I am worried about. Just above the body mount locations to the front of the rear wheel wells are looking pretty bad. Can this be fixed? The roll cage post also separated/rusted thru from the mounting plate behind the passenger seat in the same area. Other rust issues are occurring in the bed and the paint is bubbling up in typical spots too. I do not know how to weld and I have never done body work before, but I would not mind tackling some of the prep work on my own! Any insight would be appreciated.

 

I do rust repair for a living. You’ve definitely got some major stuff going on. To repair it right, it’s going to take someone with knowledge and skill to make pieces, etc. You don’t go in and just hack it all out with a sawzall. Look for someone who knows what to do and then see if there are certain things you can do to help. Almost everything is repairable, it’s just how much you want to spend to do it. Rust repair is very labor-intensive so it can get costly very quickly. JMO

 

Looks like a bit of ****ty body work has already gone on in there. I wouldn't continue to layer it up! Start by maybe finding a harbor freight buying an 80$ flux core welder learn how to use it via you tube. Those welders are perfect for sheet metal and beginners. Watch metal shaper on you tube or make it custom. You can learn a lot and a cheap welder can bring you lots of experience.dont be afraid it's only metal. I went to wyo tech and I learned more by just doing it trial and error

 

Legacy jeep. Nice! I've seen much worse in the way of rust.

Many guys here are not professional mechanics (or welders) and turn out fine work. I didn't weld until 8 years ago (I'm 57) and surprised myself with some decent work. It all depends on how much you want to be involved in restoring it and how much time/money you want to invest.

Being that the frame is good, you probably just need a mig somewhere in the 135 amp range. Argon/C02 will result in higher quality welds as opposed to flux core. You can start modest. You can always sell your welder for a future upgrade....I just did this and upgraded to a nice Lincoln multiprocess.

Other logistics. A garage is extremely helpful along with compressed air. Tools (or access to the above). There are some guys here that do things on a shoestring with no garage and others will elaborate shops.

Safety first. Careful with combustibles and fumes, even outdoors! There's more than a couple guys here who unexpectedly started fires.

This is just my two cents here. Others will chime in for sure. Congrats on the Jeep!

Pete

 

Thanks for your input!